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The National Weather Service has certified The Cocopah Indian Tribe as being a StormReady community and a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador.

The announcement means Cocopah is the first Native American tribe in Arizona to hold both designations.

Ken Waters, Warning Coordination Meterologist with the NWS station in Phoenix, traveled to Yuma on Thursday to present the Tribal Council with a certificate.

In order to achieve the StormReady designation, communities must be able to meet certain reporting, alert, and readiness requirements when it comes to severe weather.

Regarding the Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador designation, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website, such communities “are formally recognized by the NOAA as organizations committed to collaborating with NOAA, sharing preparedness messaging in outreach to the public, and serving as examples themselves by implementing resilience best practices.”

Last year, The Cocopah Indian Tribe became the first Native American tribe in the country and Arizona to join the Integrated Public Alert Warning System (IPAWS) Collaborative Working Group.

The system enables participating communities to send real-time alerts across social media and broadcast platforms to specific areas that could be affected by severe weather or other emergencies.